Probate Litigation Newsletter E-MAIL AL E RTS Probate Litigation Practice HIGH SOCIETY THEFT: THE ASTOR CASE Manchester David Eby, Chair By: Leigh Willey, Esquire
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[email protected] Phone: 603.695.8651 Steven Grill
[email protected] DE C E MB E R 16, 2009 Tom Quarles
[email protected] On October 8, 2009, a New York City jury found the late Brooke Astor’s Anu Mullikin son, Anthony Marshall and his attorney, Francis X. Morrissey, Jr. guilty
[email protected] of defrauding Mrs. Astor out of millions of dollars in the last years of Patricia McGrath her life as she suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s. The salacious trial
[email protected] captivated a city that is otherwise seemingly impervious to the tribulations Nelson Raust of its rich and famous citizens. For the rest of us, the ordeal offered a
[email protected] rare glimpse into the family life of one of America’s wealthiest women and most important philanthropists. Jonathan Shirley
[email protected] Brooke Astor was born on March 30, 1902 in Portsmouth, New Shelagh Michaud Hampshire. Upon the death of her third husband, Vincent Astor, who
[email protected] inherited a fortune when his father, John Jacob Astor IV died on the Jonathan Eck Titanic, Mrs. Astor took control of the Vincent Astor Foundation. As
[email protected] chairwoman, Mrs. Astor oversaw the organization’s philanthropic endeavors and was instrumental in giving away nearly $200 million to Brian Moushegian
[email protected] various New York charities. Mrs. Astor was as famous for her quick wit and acid tongue as she was for her unparalleled generosity.